Of Senshi and Sages
by White Wave Dancer
Summary: Zelda/Sailor Moon. Zelda is once again haunted by prophetic visions. This time, they speak of a silver goddess and a Kingdom on the verge of rising again. Meanwhile, the Sages search for Link, and the mysterious one who will complete the Triforce.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: This is a Legend of Zelda/Sailor Moon crossover. In the Sailor Moon world, it takes place just before the rise of Crystal Tokyo. In the Zelda universe, it takes place sometime around the Majora's Mask thing, except that I'm going to pretend Link is an adult, because it just makes more sense. Okay? Okay. Oh, and I need suggestions for couples. I want Link to hook up with someone in this fic. It can be anyone from Sailor Moon or Zelda. Heck, I may even make it an m/m pairing if that gets enough votes. Just four people who are off limits: Usagi, Mamoru, Haruka, and Michiru. I am NOT doing alternate pairings. Link can certainly have a crush on one of them, but by the end, I want him to hook up with someone else. Oh, one more thing: I use some concepts about the Silver Millennium that are taken from my "Children of the Goddesses" series. If you've read my fics "Immortal Time" and "The Promise Child," they may make more sense. You don't have to, they will be explained, it's just a suggestion. Now, onto the fic.  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
In the hour before dawn, the hour when the sky above Hyrule was a beautiful shade of gray, and a warm mist hung over Zora's River, a rider stood outside Hyrule Castle, anxiously awaiting the sunrise. With the rising sun would come the cry of the cuccos, which would awaken all of Hyrule. At sunrise, the night guards would take to their beds, and a fresh shift would replace them. At sunrise, merchants would open their shops, the drawbridge would be lowered, and Hyrule Market would swarm with activity. At sunrise, the rider could deliver her message.  
  
Shifting nervously from foot to foot, the rider, a lovely young woman, cast her eyes upon the misty grey sky, trying to estimate the minutes until sunrise by the color of the sky. After several minutes without luck, she sighed, and went back to shifting restlessly. Her mount, a copper-colored mare with a white mane and tail, grazed lazily upon the dewy grass, pointedly ignoring her mistress' nervous dance. She was not bothered by so little movement, not as long as there was grass within her reach. But when her rider took to pacing, trampling the juicy blades beneath the soles of her soft leather shoes, the mare raised her head and whickered in annoyance. The young woman paused in mid-stride, taking a moment to consider the possible reasons for the mare's behavior. Realization struck her, and she sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Epona," she chuckled, and stepped away from the mare with an exaggerated bow. "Please continue." Epona snorted, rolling her black horse eyes, looking for all the world as if she were sneering, and returned to her meal. The young woman watched her mount's contented chewing with irritation.  
  
"How can you be so calm?" she asked testily. "Knowing why we're here, why you brought me here, how can you just stand there, chewing as if nothing's wrong?" Epona sighed. Grunting, she lifted her head, and butted to woman's chest with her wet nose. The rider chuckled.  
  
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. As long as the gate is closed, we can't do anything, so I might as well relax and let you graze. I'll be quiet." Epona whuffled, as if to say, 'see that you do,' and for the third time, returned to grazing.  
  
In the hour before dawn, a rider stood outside Hyrule Castle, quietly awaiting the sunrise.  
  
***  
  
The first ray of golden sunlight that spilled over Hyrule awakened cuccos all over the Kingdom. Almost as one, the birds crowed their wake-up song, jarring Impa from a blissful sleep. The sheikah woman grumbled audibly as she dragged herself from her bed; she had been quite enjoying her rest. But she could not sleep any longer. It was dawn, and time to awaken Princess Zelda.  
  
"I'm the Sage of Shadow, survivor of the Sheikah, and the King still expects me to play nurse to his daughter," Impa griped, hoping the sound of her own voice would wake her up. "Goddess! She's the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom! Surely she's smart enough to get herself up in the morning!" Knowing that grousing would do her no good, Impa sighed and set about dressing herself.  
  
It was not that she minded caring for Zelda. Impa had been the girl's nanny since her birth, and was very fond of her. She would have to be, considering that she was the closest thing to a mother that the princess had, the poor dear. The only thing Impa really objected to was getting up with the cuccos to help the soon-to-be Queen of Hyrule prepare herself for a day of royal duties. For all that she was, the Great Impa was NOT a morning person. With a sigh and a groan, the Shiekah woman rubbed her hands over her face, and started toward the princess' chambers.  
  
Princess Zelda was already awake when Impa reached her bedchamber. Still in her silken nightdress, she knelt by her window, staring out at the sunrise. Sunrises were beautiful in Hyrule. The sun would slip over the horizon, turning the sky flaming shades of pink and orange for a few glorious minutes before they gave way to a crystal blue sky marked by patches of soft, white cloud. Her own dislike of mornings aside, Impa could fully understand why Zelda would want to watch the sunrise-except Zelda didn't appear to be looking at the sunrise. It seemed to Impa that she was staring blankly at nothing at all.  
  
"Zelda?" Impa said softly. "Your highness?" Zelda started, as if suddenly remembering where she was, and turned to face her nanny. A smile that did not banish the worry from her eyes curved her lips.  
  
"Good morning, Impa," Zelda murmured, rising and crossing to the Sage of Shadow. "How are you this morning?" Impa snorted as, without being asked, Zelda turned about to allow her nanny access to the ties on her nightdress.  
  
"I'm tired and grumpy," she said dryly, unlacing Zelda's nightdress, "just like I am every morning. Raise your arms, darling. How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine," the princess sighed. Impa's deft movements ceased for just the briefest moment. Then, she slipped the silken garment over her princess' head. The chill of the early morning hit Zelda harder than she had expected. Zelda rubbed her arms furiously, trying to rid herself of gooseflesh. Seeing Zelda shivering, Impa chuckled.  
  
"A tad cool, this morning, isn't it highness?" she drawled, her tone gently mocking. Celestial blue eyes lifted in a gesture of disgust, far haughtier than a girl standing naked before her nanny could justify. Impa laughed and draped a blanket around Zelda's quivering bare shoulders.  
  
"I'll go draw your bath. Warm water, I presume?" Zelda nodded. Impa stared hard at her for a long moment, then, turned away, leaving Zelda to her thoughts-her dark and lonely thoughts.the celebration that quickly turned deadly.the shining silver jewel that washed away a sea of blood. On impulse, Zelda opened her mouth.  
  
"Hey.Impa." Zelda trailed off. Impa had already left.  
  
Moments later, Zelda was immersed in a tub of warm, soapy water, sitting perfectly still as Impa gently scrubbed her skin. A stony silence stretched taught between them. The princess and her nanny kept to their thoughts, neither one wishing to vex the other. Impa's concern for the princess, however, soon got the better of her.  
  
"You were up very early this morning, highness," the Shiekah woman began. "Were you watching the sunrise?" The moment she said it, Impa knew the question was a mistake. She knew the princess had not been watching the sunrise, and if her problem was one she did not want to share, Impa had left her with the perfect evasive path. Luckily for her, Zelda was not really in the mood to hide her troubles.  
  
"No," she sighed. "I was thinking. I've.I've been having dreams again. Dreams of the sort I had before Ganondorf took over." In mid-scrub, Impa froze solid. Zelda waited, muscles stiff with tension, as Impa digested her news.  
  
"You don't have to worry, Impa. They aren't telling me that anything bad is going to happen-not to Hyrule, at least." Zelda felt Impa's frown on the back of her head.  
  
"Not to Hyrule?" she asked darkly. "Is something bad going to happen elsewhere?"  
  
"Maybe.I don't know.I can't tell. The dream begins with a deadly battle, and the cloud above Death Mountain looks strange, but somehow, I don't feel that this Kingdom is in any direct danger.yet." Zelda trailed off, embarrassed. As usual, although there were several components of her dream whose meanings were clear to her, the majority of the dream was a mystery.  
  
"Great," Impa muttered, obviously agitated. Silence was restored. Zelda hugged her knees to her chest, and winced as Impa resumed scrubbing her back, much less gently than before.  
  
"Impa.she said softly. Impa glanced at the rag, then at the patch of red skin that stood out against Zelda's silky white shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry, highness. Come on, it's time to get out." Zelda took her nanny's offered hand and stood up.  
  
"Um.about my dreams." Impa cut her off with a shake of head.  
  
"Don't worry about that right now. We'll tell your father about them later. Come on. Let's get you dressed."  
  
***  
  
"I must admit, Zelda," Impa said, helping Zelda slip her gown over her head, "my curiosity is getting the better of me. Would you mind telling me about your dream?" An almost crippling feeling of relief flooded through Zelda. It had begun to feel as if she would burst if she didn't tell someone about her dream soon. But where should she begin?  
  
Perhaps at the beginning.  
  
"When the dream begins, I'm watching a party in a glittering palace made of silver. There are six goddesses there: one who shines gold, one who burns like flames, a third who makes me think of a thunderstorm in a forest.ouch! Impa, not so tight!" Zelda cried, clasping her rib. Impa hastily released the laces of Zelda's bodice.  
  
"Sorry, your highness. I'm not having good luck today, am I?"  
  
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were doing it all on purpose!" Zelda teased good-naturedly. Impa made a face, and resumed the act of lacing Zelda's bodice.  
  
"Go on, tell me the rest of your dream. You were speaking of the goddesses?"  
  
"Oh yes. The fourth goddess flows cold like Zora's river. The last two are the sea and sky. They are lovers, acting in harmony. Actually, all the goddesses act as one goddess. There is only one thought in all their minds: protecting the two silver goddesses who watch over the entire affair. Suddenly, they have the chance to prove their loyalty. There is a battle. All of them fight and give their lives for the ones they serve, yet still one silver goddess-the younger of the two-falls, and the halls of that great palace run red with blood. Crying, the elder silver goddess takes a shining jewel from her heart. It's glow cleans the blood from the palace, but it also steals the breath from the goddess' body. She is lost." Here, Zelda paused. Impa, who by this time was brushing the princess' hair, paused as well.  
  
"Is that all there is?"  
  
"No, there's more. I'm just trying to remember what it is." After a moment, the rest of the dream returned to her. "The goddess of death takes the victims in her arms and restores their lives, but the elder goddess still lies dead.  
  
"Suddenly, the scene changes. A castle made from crystal stands on a quite world of ice. I see the silver goddess-the elder one-and she cries out to me, telling me to 'awaken the Soldier of Sanctity.' Then, I'm standing before the Temple of Time. I look up, and I can see the top of Death Mountain. The goddess Din hovers above the volcano. The cloud broadcasts trouble. It is not even a cloud any more. Red and silver flames braid a ring around the mountain top. Din whispers, 'Complete the triforce. Seek the Hero of Time, for together you shall find your counterpart.'  
  
"I look back at the Temple of Time, and there stands the Time Goddess, singing the Song of Time. She beckons to me. As I follow her into the temple, the silver goddess cries, 'Awaken the Messiah! Protect my child!' And there, the dream ends." For a long while, Impa was silent and still.  
  
"I think we ought to tell the other Sages about this," she said at last. Zelda sighed, and trailed her fingertips over the three golden triangles that the gods had branded into the back of her right hand. The bottom left triangle of the Triforce symbol, the one representing the wisdom of her patron goddess, Naryu, was brighter than the other two, corresponding with the greatest strength of her spirit.  
  
"I pray that Nayru grants me the wisdon to figure out the meaning of these warnings."  
  
"I'll pray for you, too," Impa promised, and helped the Guardian of the Sacred Realm don the satin wimple she would wear over her hair until she was crowned Queen of Hyrule.  
  
A knock at the princess' chamber door interrupted the pair. Impa crossed to the door, opening it to reveal a palace guard.  
  
"Great Impa," the guard began, "that rancher's daughter wishes to speak with her highness." Immediately, the shadow on Zelda's lovely face vanished, giving way to child-like eagerness.  
  
"Malon?"  
  
"Yes, your Highness. She says it is a matter of great importance."  
  
"Well, by the goddesses, let her in!" Zelda exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"Begging pardon, Zelda," Impa said dryly, but weren't you going to tell the Sages about your dream?" Zelda grinned sheepishly.  
  
"I'll tell them, Impa," I promise! For now, though, will you please get my shoes? Guard, tell Malon I shall meet her in the inner garden. I will be out shortly."  
Malon, the young daughter of Talon the Rancher, was Zelda's oldest and dearest friend-next to Impa, of course. Talon was the kindly, but lazy owner of Lon-Lon Ranch, from where the royal family got all its milk. For as long as Zelda could remember, the third day of the week had been eagerly anticipated, for it meant a visit from the funny man who came from the ranch, and promised a break from royal routine.  
  
Talon was very kind to Zelda, and always brought her small gifts from the ranch: pretty glass bottles, a wooden doll he'd carved himself, brightly colored wildflowers to tuck into her wimple, rupees pulled from behind her ear, which he always managed to find no matter how certain she made beforehand that her ears were clean.  
  
"You remind me of my little girl," Talon often told her. "Both of you are as pretty as little girls can be."  
  
"I want to meet your daughter," Zelda would say. "Bring her with you next week." And Talon would be the only adult who didn't laugh. In fact, he seemed to take her seriously. Still, week after week came and went, and there was no trace of Talon's mysterious daughter. Then, one ordinary third weekday, Talon arrived at the palace with the usual supply of milk in one arm, and a round-faced, redheaded child of five-exactly Zelda's age-in the other. The child was Malon, Talon's sweet and bubbly daughter, and she and Zelda were friends from the start. At first, the King was rather skeptical of the friendship between the princess and the rancher's daughter. After all, one was the heir to the throne of a great Kingdom, and the other was heir only to a herd of horses and cattle. But Zelda and Malon proved that their similarities, though few in number, far overpowered their differences. Both were motherless girls being raised by their fathers, and finding friends wherever they could.  
  
From then on, Malon came with her father nearly every week. She and Zelda sang songs, played games with pebbles and seeds, and went horseback riding through the gardens with Impa. The girls were inseparable. Until the day the King of the Gerudo Thieves, Ganondorf, betrayed and overthrew Zelda's father, forcing the princess to spend seven years in hiding.  
  
Zelda had only been ten years old when Ganondorf made his move, but she could remember it as if it were yesterday. She had left in the middle of the night atop Impa's horse, bundled in blankets to guard against the freezing rain. As they galloped across the drawbridge, Zelda had parted with her precious Ocarina of Time, tossing it over her shoulder to Link, a Hylian boy raised by the Kokari. Link, who turned out to be the bearer of the Triforce of Fayore's Courage, was also the Hero of Time, the one her dreams predicted would save Hyrule from Ganondorf. He was also the last living creature Zelda had contact with besides Impa before spending seven long, lonely years in hiding. There hadn't even been time to tell Malon goodbye.  
  
Thankfully, Zelda's dream had proved correct. Ganondorf's seven-year reign ended when a much older and stronger Link had awakened each of the six sages and used their power to destroy the Gerudo King. Zelda had helped him along his journey, emerging from her isolation now and again in the guise of a Shiekah boy. But that did not change the fact that Zelda had grown up hidden from the very people she would rule, and separated from her best friend. She had seen Malon but once since her father had been returned to his throne.  
  
But Zelda was determined to put all that behind her as she marched down the hallways towards the inner garden. Today was not a day for opening old wounds. This visit would only be a meeting between old friends. There would be no talk of the time they had spent apart from one another. But when Zelda reached the inner garden and saw Malon standing their, standing there, staring at her through dull, tired eyes, looking far older than her nineteen years, she knew it was worthless to push it away. Zelda could never forget the hardships Malon had endured during her seven-year absence, when Raru, Sage of Light, had been protecting Link's growing body.  
  
Malon's uncle, Ingo, who had worked for his brother, Talon, prior to Ganondorf's takeover, had more or less lost his mind when the Gerudo King came into power. Desperate for Ganondorf's approval, Ingo had banished Talon to Kakariko Village, and proclaimed himself the new head of Lon-Lon Ranch. It was a small victory, but it was clever and ruthless, and Ganondorf loved such things.  
  
Malon, furious over the betrayal, refused to accept Ingo as her boss. But Ingo quickly discovered that he could control his young niece simply by threatening her beloved horses. Years of oppression by her mad uncle had put lines on Malon's pale face long before they were due. True, Link had rescued her from Ingo, and given the ranch back to Talon, but the damage had been done. Even with a smile upon her lips, Malon looked tired and worn.  
  
"Malon!" Zelda called as she hurried toward her friend, surprised at how choked up her voice sounded. A grin lit up Malon's haggard face as she opened her arms to receive the princess' embrace.  
  
"How are you, Zelda?"  
  
"Fantastic!" That was a lie, of course. No one could be fantastic with the sort of visions Zelda was seeing. But Zelda was not about to trouble Malon with that. That was the concern of the Sages.  
  
As she stepped out of Malon's embrace, Zelda felt a puff of warm air on her cheek. Zelda turned, and found herself staring into the deep, dark eyes of a red-gold horse.  
  
"Well, hello there," she laughed the creature butted her chest with her nose. "And who might you be?"  
  
"That's Epona." Zelda smiled at the name. She well remembered Malon's most beloved mare, whom Link had won in a bet against Ingo. It was the humiliation of losing to the young man that had convinced Malon's uncle to return the ranch to his brother. It was only proper that Malon allow Link to keep the horse as thanks for saving the ranch.  
  
"You named her well, my friend," Zelda declared, stroking the mare's nose. "She looks exactly like the old Epona! Did that one have a foal I never knew about?"  
  
"Zelda," Malon said, "this is the old Epona." The princess laughed outright.  
  
"Don't be silly!" she chided. "Epona belongs to Link now."  
  
"She and Link still visit me on occasion," Malon answered softly. Surprise registered on Zelda's face.  
  
"Is Link here, too? Where is he? Why didn't he tell me he was back?" Malon's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Back?" she repeated, her voice low and dangerous. "Back from where?"  
  
Much too late, Zelda realized her mistake. Link had been gone so long, and she had become so used to his absence, that she'd nearly forgotten the conditions under which he'd left. Zelda had been the only one he'd told of his journey, and she had sworn to tell no one.  
  
"Oh...nowhere..." she said lamely, knowing that she was only digging herself deeper. Malon folded her arms, and glared hard at her friend, the lines on her pallid face deepening.  
  
"Zelda," she said in a no-nonsense voice, "where is Link?" For the briefest of moments, Zelda cursed her close friendship with Malon. No ordinary commoner would have dared to speak so firmly to her. The princess sighed and lowered her eyes.  
  
"I promised him I would not say."  
  
"But he is not in Hyrule?" Malon pressed.  
  
"Well, he is now, obviously!" Zelda replied testily.  
  
"No, he isn't!" Malon said harshly. "That's why I came to see you! Epona came to the ranch last night in a terrible fright. I feared something had spooked her, and that she had thrown Link. She knows he's her master, and that is the only explanation I could think of for her to show up without him. I rode all around the ranch and then to Kakariko Village. I even rode as far west as the gate outside the Gerudo Fortress! I could find no trace of him. I suppose the Gerudos could be protecting him, I know he is considered one of their own, but...wouldn't he still have this?" From the pocket of her ragged skirt, Malon produced an object that made Zelda's heart sink.  
  
"My ocarina!" she whispered, taking the instrument from her friend, and clutching it to her breast. Why would Link be without the Ocarina of Time? Blue eyes, bright with shock and fear, alighted upon Malon's frowning face. In her memory's ear, Zelda heard the voice of the goddess Din as it had sounded in her dream: "Seek the Hero of Time," she had said. The Hero of Time. Link. Zelda swallowed hard.  
  
"The Gerudos are not hiding Link," she said with certainty. "I would know if they were, even if he were hurt or on the run. Nabooroo would tell me. If any of the Sages were harboring Link, I would know. I am sure of it. Link is not in Hyrule."  
  
"But Epona is," Malon remarked needlessly, patting the mare's neck, "and that doesn't make sense. Epona is smart and loyal. Even if she were spooked, she wouldn't abandon Link so far from home. Unless..." The wondering note in Malon's voice caught Zelda's attention.  
  
"Unless?" Malon pursed her lips.  
  
"There is one other reason I can think of why Epona might be here without Link, even when he isn't inside Hyrule's boarders," Malon said slowly, "and that's if she were coming to fetch help for him."  
  
"Can she do that?" Zelda asked, eying the mare doubtfully. Epona snorted and rolled her eyes, prompting a grin from Malon.  
  
"The first time I went riding outside the ranch by myself, I fell and broke my wrist. Epona ran straight back to the ranch, and according to Dad, galloped right into the house and up the stairs into his bedroom. And she wouldn't stop nibbling at him until he got on her back and allowed her to take him to me." Zelda had to smile at that, but frowned again quickly.  
  
"But obviously, she hasn't taken you to Link this time. Could she really be coming to bring him help?" Malon's gaze was steady and serious.  
  
"She brought me to you, didn't she?" That startled Zelda. Gripping the Ocarina, she stared at Malon with wide eyes.  
  
"Truly?" she breathed. "Did she truly bring you to me?"  
  
"She did. I think she believes you can help." After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Can you?" Zelda didn't waste a moment. Her eyes earnest, she clasped Malon's hand  
  
"Malon, I believe I can! Come with me to the Chamber of Sages. I shall explain everything there." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"The Chamber of Sages!" Malon repeated, suddenly pale. "Zelda, are you crazy? I can't go there!"

Zelda, privately amused by Malon's reaction, tipped her head, pretending not to understand. "Why can't you?"

"Because I'm no sage! I'm no Hero of Time like Link is. I'm not _anyone_ important!"

"You are my best friend, Malon. Is that not important?"

"Don't be silly, Zelda!" Malon responded, pouting. "You know perfectly well that isn't what I mean."

Zelda chuckled, quickly embracing the rancher's daughter. "Calm yourself, my dear one. There is nothing for you to fear among the sages." She pulled back to grip Malon's shoulders, her expression turning grim. "Besides, you have come bearing vital information regarding the location of our beloved Hero of Time. I will need you to relay it to the sages."

Taking up her friend's hand, Zelda started towards the palace. Malon, though, kept her hand slack and dug her heels into the ground, refusing to be moved. "Zelda, what is going on here? There's something you aren't saying, isn't there? You couldn't just relay the information yourself?"

"Yes," Zelda admitted. "There is something I am not saying, but I promise I will explain everything when we get into the Chamber. For now, I am asking you as your friend if you would please come along?"

She tugged, but still Malon stood her ground, her mouth set into a stubborn line. "What about Epona?"

"The hostlers will care for her!" Zelda cried pettishly. "We must make haste! Do not make me remind you that I am the princess here, Malon."

"I am not going to like what I hear in the Chamber of Sages, am I?"

This stopped Zelda for a long moment, and she considered the question carefully. There were connections forming in her mind, vital clues hooking onto one another like chain links. She felt the Ocarina of Time, cold in her left hand, while Malon's limp fingers warmed her right. She saw in her mind the Goddess of Time, and the strange red and silver fire braiding a ring around Death Mountain. She heard the voices of Din and the Silver Goddess: _Seek the Hero of Time…Complete the Triforce…Awaken the Soldier of Sanctity…_

"Dear Malon," she said at last. "No. I would imagine what you hear today will not please you. But it must be heard. Link could be in very real danger. And if you do not hear what I must say to the Sages, then help may never come to him. I fear even, my friend, that if what I must say is not heard, a terror may befall Hyrule before which Ganondorf himself would tremble."

Malon locked eyes with the princess. Zelda held the peasant woman's gaze steadily. After a long moment, she felt her friend's fingers tighten around her hand. Slowly, Malon took a step forward.

Raru, Sage of Light, regarded Hyrule's princess with carefully veiled alarm. Zelda gazed unflinchingly back at him, her hands clasped tightly before her. Malon squirmed under the Sage's eyes, shrinking behind her friend.

"Termina…" he repeated, sounding mystified.  
"That is correct, Raru," Zelda confirmed. "Link rode off to Termina in search of the fairy, Navi, who was his partner and guardian in the battle against Ganondorf. I…I was the only one he told of his plans to journey. He went armed with the Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time. But alas…" She trailed off, holding out the Ocarina for all to see. "His mare, Epona, returned and brought the Ocarina with her. But Link was nowhere to be seen."

She looked around at the faces of the sages. Most were horror-stricken. A few appeared to take the news of the missing Hero in stride, but their eyes betrayed their true emotions. They were frightened—_terrified—_by the prospect of losing their Champion.

"He must be dead," Nabooroo, Sage of Spirit, said darkly.

"No!" The Sage of Forest, a Kokari girl called Saria, cried out in protest. "Don't _say _that, Nabooroo! He can't be dead!"

Zelda winced, feeling pity for the child sage. Saria had been Link's best friend during the days he lived with the Kokari. The news of the Hero's disappearance likely hit her harder than it did the rest of them.

"If he were dead," Zelda said coolly, "I think we would know without having to rely on such threadbare evidence as his mare and Ocarina appearing in our midst. Besides, I will admit that I have further evidence to the contrary."

"You mean that he lives?" Darunia exclaimed. The hope in the Fire Sage's voice could not be mistaken. "My sworn brother lives?"

"I am almost certain of it, Darunia," Zelda answered confidently, leveling her eyes on the Goron. She paused for a moment, drawing in a breath. "I have been having dreams as of late."

This admission sent a murmur of alarm through the Sages. Even Malon snapped her eyes towards her friend, fear plain on her haggard features. Only Impa kept her cool, and it was the Shadow Sage who barked out the order that calmed the others, that Zelda might continue.

"They do not lead me to believe that Hyrule is any direct danger. Rather, I believe we may have been spared trouble by Link's absence."

Before questions could be asked, Zelda relayed the contents of her dreams to the sages, from the goddesses in the shining silver palace to the fiery ring around Death Mountain to the Goddess of Time and Din's command. "I heard the Goddess of Power calling me, telling me to seek the Hero of Time and complete the Triforce. As you all know, Ganondorf held the Triforce of Power. With his death, the Triforce is technically incomplete…as it would be if Link or I were to die. But Din's words lead me to believe that there is only the Triforce of Power missing. She told me to seek the Hero of Time. There is but one Hero of Time. And why should I be asked to seek him if he is dead?"

"There are many reasons I could think of, your highness," Raru said with a sigh. "But there is no reason to lose hope yet. I take it you intend to do as Din asks you and journey to Termina."

"I do. And I intend to take Malon with me."

"What!" the rancher's daughter cried out in surprise. "Zelda, I can't! I—"

"Malon, stop this nonsense!" Zelda scolded. "You are the only one who knows Epona as well as Link does, and she will be key in finding him. You are going to be quite a necessary part of this mission, I believe."

Malon scowled, but said nothing. Zelda felt a pang of regret looking into her friend's eyes. Although Zelda had known from childhood that she herself would one day be at the center of something perilous, Malon had never believed herself destined for anything but the quiet life of a milkmaid, gently tending her beloved horses. It did not feel fair to drag her on this mission. But then, had it really been fair of the fates to lay the burden of being the Hero of Time on Link? Or the responsibility of being a Sage on any of those present here?

"I suppose it will be all we can do to supply you with rations and send you on your way then," Raru sighed. "Will you be departing immediately?"

"Not quite. I have some business at the Temple of Time first. Another part of my dream which I believe must be attended to before we go."

"I won't have you going alone, Zelda," Impa said sharply. "I have sworn to your father that I will protect you. Thus, I am duty-bound to come along."

In spite of herself, Zelda smiled. "You could just say that you'll miss me too much and avoid using so much breath," Zelda quipped, earning herself some swallowed laughter from the Sages. Impa flushed ever so slightly and pretended to be fascinated by some imagined speck on her shoulder.

"I'll come along, too," Saria announced.

"Don't be ridiculous, Saria," Raru snapped. "You know that you cannot safely go beyond the Kokari forest!"

"Of course, I can! I am the Sage of the Forest, aren't I?"

"You are still a Kokari, nourished by the Great Deku Tree. And as a Kokari, you will die if you attempt to leave your forest!"

"But I leave it to come to the Chamber of Sages, don't I?"

"The Chamber is part of the Sacred Realm. Ruto is the Sage of Water, and comes here to join us, but she is also a Zora, and do you think that she could hope to venture far from the river and survive? If anything, being the Sage of Forest makes it even more dangerous for you to leave!"

"But Link is my best friend!" Saria cried. "I can't leave him when he's in danger!"

"You'll do no one any good if you get yourself killed!" Ruto declared pettishly. "Now be reasonable. Impa, Zelda, and Malon will find Link and bring him home to us, you'll see."

Saria's mouth trembled with rage. Without another word, she stood and vanished from the Chamber, returning to her forest.

"You didn't have to be so patronizing, Ruto," Nabooroo sighed. "Saria may look like a child, but her spirit is older than all of us."

Ruto pouted slightly, her wing-like fins twitching in agitation. "She was acting enough like a child," she muttered.

"Never mind that," Darunia interrupted. "I imagine time is short and the women must be off."

"Indeed." Impa rose. "I shall be off to gather your things, Zelda, while you do what you must at the Temple of Time."

Zelda nodded.

"Will you need me at the Temple of Time, Zelda?" Malon asked. "Or can I go home and get my things, too?"

"Go ahead, friend. I believe that I am meant to conduct my business at the Temple of Time alone."


End file.
